There are a variety of storing and dispensing containers in the market, particularly those for storing and dispensing folded tissue sheets and more particularly sheets of wipes such as tissues or pre-moistened wipes, collectively referred to as tissue products. Typically, tissue products are folded and stacked in a container. For example, containers of tissue products have been available wherein each of the tissue products stacked in the container has been arranged in a folded configuration such as a C-folded, Z-folded or quarter-folded configuration as are well known to those skilled in the art. Sometimes each folded tissue product is interfolded with the folded tissue product immediately above and below it in the stack. In an alternative configuration, the folded tissue products have been placed in a container in the form of a continuous web of material that includes perforations adapted to allow for separation of individual tissue products from the web upon the application of a pulling force.
Many containers for storing and dispensing sheets of wipes such as tissues or pre-moistened wipes tissue products have been developed to allow consumers to conveniently carry the wipes away from home. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,131,195, describes a disposable, compactable moisture-impervious package for dispensing a stack of premoistened sheets. However, the package disclosed therein requires the cutting and adhering of separate pieces of material to form each package.
In addition to requiring the cutting and adhering together of many parts, such as a front face, a rear face, and any adhesive stickers or flaps, which results in additional manufacturing complexity and cost, dispensers may not be durable enough to withstand days or weeks in one's pocket or purse. Further, the closure device, which generally is a resealable opening, may not be durable enough to withstand repeated openings and closings. Failure of the dispenser of the closure device may cause the contents to become dirty and/or fall out of the dispenser and result in a less than satisfactory user experience.
Another problem with portable dispensers is that because of their compact size tissue products may need to be folded multiple times in order to contain several tissues in the small space. However, because of the multiple folds, the user generally must unfold the tissue after dispensing it from the portable pack before being able to use the full-size tissue. This makes it difficult for the user to be able to use the full-size tissue quickly after dispensing it from the portable pack. Moreover, if the tissue needs to be used quickly, before the user has a chance to unfold it, the tissue may not be large enough to offer adequate protection. Another problem which results from the multiple folds is that the user may believe that the tissue is smaller than it actually is.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a portable, flexible sheet material dispenser which is durable enough to be stored in one's bag or purse for long periods of time and which is durable enough to withstand repeated openings and closings. Moreover, it would be desirable to provide a portable, flexible pack sheet dispenser which contains large tissue sheets yet is still small and discreet enough to be placed comfortably and easily into one's bag or purse. In addition, it would be desirable to provide a portable, flexible tissue sheet dispenser where the tissues contained therein are large enough to be suitable for a wide variety of tasks.